It is with such a bus route, passing through five European capitals: Warsaw, Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris, that many of us begin our acquaintance with the Old World.
Short stops in Poland usually do not cause strong emotions among participants of a bus trip, but the bus enters Berlin amid the unchanging cries of “To the Reichstag!” The city, once split in two, is today again the capital of united Germany. German parliamentarians work in the halls of the Reichstag, which, however, do not prevent tourists from taking the elevator up to the huge glass dome of the building and appreciating the panorama of Berlin opening from its height. The famous Unter den Linden begins near the nearby Brandenburg Gate, lined, as it should be, with spreading linden trees. The old Prussian spirit still lingers on this magnificent Berlin boulevard. It should be said that the Prussian kings themselves, resting in the crypt of Berlin Cathedral, were great art connoisseurs. This is easy to see by getting acquainted with the collections of the nearby Old and New Museums, the Old National Gallery, and the Pergamon Museum.
Only small sections remain of the grim concrete wall that divided Berlin, left as a lesson to posterity. But on the wasteland abandoned since the war between West and East Berlin, a grandiose modernist ensemble of Potsdamer Platz has grown - a triumph of high-tech, neon and mirrored surfaces. Cafes, restaurants, shopping centers, and modern cinemas with giant hemispherical screens are located at the foot of the giant skyscrapers of the Daimler-Benz and Sony offices.
The only plus of night crossings in bus tours is that, having dozed off in Berlin, you open your eyes already in Amsterdam. Museums of local celebrities - Rembrandt and Van Gogh, a visit to a diamond factory, buying bulbs of Dutch tulips and a walk through the red light district, which is simply impossible to pass by. Since it is located in the center of the Old Town, in a bizarre labyrinth of narrow streets that envelop the Oude Kerk, Amsterdam's oldest church, and the canals closest to it like a web.
Three hundred kilometers separate Amsterdam from Brussels. Victor Hugo called its medieval Grand-Place “the most beautiful square in the world” and, imagine, no one has refuted him so far. Tourists filling the square always have something to do. In the mornings, a flower market blazes with bright colors on the Grand-Place. In the evening, a light and music show is held. At the beginning of September the square turns into a large beer pavilion. Just like the huge flower carpet that completely covers the Grand-Place every two years. Want to see this miracle with your own eyes - come to Brussels this summer, in mid-August.
And here is Paris - the capital of fashion and love, where the paths of all the great people of the planet crossed. “Bonjour!”, beautiful city, the Champs-Élysées and Notre-Dame. Walk along the boulevards of this city, admire the windows of luxury shops, throw a coin to a street musician, sit at the tables of the famous literary cafes of Montparnasse. And then look into the cozy Place des Vosges, where the formidable Cardinal Richelieu himself once lived, and where Princess Diana and Dodi al-Fayed came to the fashionable little restaurant “Benoit” on their last evening.
The last stop of a classic bus tour is Dresden. The city, bombed to the ground and restored from ruins, today is practically indistinguishable from engravings two centuries old. The former capital of the Kingdom of Saxony holds one of the world's best collections of works of art. The Dresden Gallery exhibits the “Old Masters” collection, among its 700 paintings is Raphael's “Sistine Madonna”. In value, the “Old Masters” can only rival the collection of jewels “Green Vaults”, located in the Residence Palace of the Saxon rulers. Photography is strictly forbidden there, but believe me, you will remember for the rest of your life the sparkling radiance of tens of thousands of large and small diamonds, emeralds, rubies and pearls.
You have to pay for the low prices of bus tours with your own comfort - inexpensive hotels, night crossings, and a small number of excursions included in the price of the tour. True, you can always find a reasonable compromise between the cost of the trip and the level of service provided. You have to think about food during the trip yourself. Usually only breakfasts at hotels are included in the price of the tour. But Europe is not at all as expensive as is commonly believed. Lunch or dinner can be had for €10-12, and in Poland for €3-5. Take tea/coffee, dry soups that are brewed with boiling water, nuts, and chocolate with you on the road. But keep in mind that the import of animal products into the European Union countries is prohibited. Violation of this rule is punishable by a fine at customs.
Natalya YAKUBOVA, Elizaveta KOTAEVA,
Inna ROZHDESTVENSKAYA.